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Radical new chemistry in SpaceX missions?

From
Guy Cox, St Albans, New South Wales, Australia

You write that an investigation into the 2016 explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket found that “liquid oxygen leaked… then ignited” (20 January, p 6). This is radically new chemistry! I'd like to know what actually caused the blast.

The editor writes:• SpaceX reports that the Falcon 9 has aluminium vessels to store helium to maintain fuel and oxygen pressure, each with a carbon-fibre wrap into which oxygen leaked. Breaking fibres or friction “can ignite the oxygen” and “the loading temperature of the helium was cold enough to create solid oxygen”. So it was aluminium or carbon burning. …